Jason Varitek
Catcher seems receptive
February 17, 2008 | Boston Globe| By Amalie Benjamin
Varitek is open on contract talks
FORT MYERS, Fla. - He might not be the go-to catcher for jokes in the clubhouse - he painted Doug Mirabelli as that guy, himself as the quiet one - but Jason Varitek got a couple of quips in when asked about his contract situation yesterday. Or, rather, when asked whether he paid attention to Jorge Posada's contract situation.
"A four-year deal?" he said, smiling. "Of course."
While the Yankees set the market with a $52.4 million, four-year contract for Posada, whose offense was a major factor in the deal, talks on an extension between the Red Sox and Varitek have yet to begin, though that has little to do with the desire of either side to sit down at the table.
"There haven't been steps toward it so far, of my knowledge," Varitek said. "Yes, we'll be extremely open to seeing what can be done."
The Red Sox recently have agreed to a number of contracts during the regular season (Josh Beckett, David Ortiz, Coco Crisp) despite stating a preference not to do so. Varitek, though, seemed to favor a swifter resolution to the situation.
"Of course, once spring training's over, you want things done with," he said. "You have to focus on the team, and we still have to focus on the team throughout spring training. I don't think either side has ever really believed in working through things through a season too much."
With one year left on the four-year, $40 million deal he signed after the last World Series title in 2004, Varitek hardly seemed affected by the situation as he talked yesterday. That was for Scott Boras, his agent, to work out, despite the fact that Boras has been loath to deal with contracts before players reach free agency.
Posada's price rose last season, as he had the best offensive year of his career. The Yankees catcher is eight months older than Varitek (who will turn 36 April 11) and hit a career-high .338 last season. Varitek, meanwhile, bounced back offensively, from the .238 of 2006 to .255 in 2007.
Manager Terry Francona yesterday recalled days in spring training last season when the team would come back from a road trip to find Varitek "wearing out" the batting cage, as he tried to right himself after that 2006 season.
Though, with Varitek, it's not necessarily all about the batting average; he has a few other things to offer.
"He blew everybody out of the water," Francona said of Friday's conditioning drills. "That probably shouldn't be able to happen, just because he's a catcher. And I know there'll be some position players [who will beat him]. That's just the work ethic and wanting to do things at a high level, leading by example, things like that. That's why he has that 'C' on his chest."
Varitek and another All-Star catcher, Ivan Rodriguez of the Tigers, have deals that are set to expire at the end of this season. Rodriguez had his $13 million option for this season picked up by Detroit.
Even with those two approaching free agency, catching is in short supply around the majors. That was what partially led to the Red Sox re-signing Mirabelli in the offseason to a one-year deal at a reduced salary ($550,000 with incentives). It was also what made the Braves' Jarrod Saltalamacchia such a hot commodity before he was traded to Texas last season.
As for an eventual replacement for Varitek, Dusty Brown and George Kottaras are likely to begin the season at Triple A. While Brown has drawn raves for his defense, Kottaras has work to do in that area, as well as offensively, though he improved through the second half of last season in Pawtucket. The club has other prospects, including Mark Wagner, but they are mostly in the lower levels (Wagner spent last season at Single A Lancaster).
The Sox clearly are neither ready nor eager to turn over their pitchers to those candidates when they still have Varitek. Calling him "off the charts" in terms of fitness and preparation, Francona said, if the desire is there, Varitek likely can play as long as he wants. There are injuries, of course, and other potential impediments. But, as far as Varitek sees it, he has years left to play, even as his contract is set to expire at the end of the season.
"I want to play as long as my body will allow me to play and I can competitively play," Varitek said. "If I start to become a detriment, we may have to change my role and then see from there. I proved what I can handle last year and what I can work through. Being able to handle that, and handle that workload, I proved a lot to myself.
"I just constantly have to listen to my body and adjust from there."